Opera Atelier opens its 2026-27 season with Canada’s first fully-staged production of M.A. Charpentier’s “The Descent of Orpheus.”

The production will be performed at Koerner Hall’s TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning from Oct. 22 to 25, 2026. The fully staged and choreographed production will be directed by Opera Atelier Founding Co-Artistic Directors Marshall Pynkoski, C.M. and Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, C.M.

In a statement, Pynkoski said, “While still grounded in the concept of period performance, Opera Atelier’s production of ‘The Descent of Orpheus’ will reflect a more contemporary aesthetic. This has much to do with Charpentier’s unrivaled ability to blend soaring human emotion with the formality of 17th century French prose and music.”

For this production, Opera Atelier has assembled a superb team of French specialists including American tenor Daniel McGrew and French-Canadian soprano Mireille Asselin.

They will be joined by French baritone David Witczak, French-Canadian bass Olivier Bergeron, and Canadian mezzo soprano Mireille Lebel.

Opera Atelier’s Associate Music Director Dr. Christopher Bagan will conduct from the harpsichord an elite ensemble of soloists from Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, and Opera Atelier’s Artist-in-Residence Measha Brueggergosman-Lee will open the evening with a unique prologue.